Passive vs Active

[BigRedX]

2 hours ago, chris_b said:

I'm very happy with the sound of my active Sadowsky Jazz bass. Would it sound the same without the preamp? I very much doubt it, so there is definitely a place for active basses.

 

And just to prove that we all want different things from our instruments, I spent a very enjoyable morning playing all of the Sadowsky demonstration basses in the days when the company was still based in Brooklyn, but in every case I thought they sounded better with the on-board pre-amp turned off.

[itu]

31 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Active pickups are another story again, as are low-impedance outputs.

What do you mean here with the term "low-impedance outputs"?

Lo-Z output is any bass with any battery powered unit in the signal chain, like active blend or boosting tone stack.

[Lfalex v1.1]

1 hour ago, itu said:

What do you mean here with the term "low-impedance outputs"?

Lo-Z output is any bass with any battery powered unit in the signal chain, like active blend or boosting tone stack.

 

I was referring to the electronics in my Vigier Series III, which, whilst not being balanced adhere to the 600 ohm standard.

I've been able to use 10metre cables with no discernable issues. 

[itu]

3 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

...Vigier Series III, which, whilst not being balanced adhere to the 600 ohm standard.

I see, you mean XLR-based lo-Z outputs. Yes, balanced is one speciality, and directed to studio people.

[Sarlscharisma]

It depends on the flavour of active.  The famed active electronics on the old Yamaha bb1200 is very unique and I'm not sure that can be replicated.  Similarly I have an Alembic and it has a very specific sound and that is to do with its unique circuitry.

 

I have both passive and active and to me it's great we have both options available to us.

[SumOne]

I've got a more mundane reason for liking passive - they generally have a front mounted jack and active are usually side mounted. I prefer the front mounted with a 90 degree jack as it seems less likely to get accidentally pulled out while also being easier to put in/out deliberately. Also when playing sitting down it doesn't poke into the chair. 

[grandad]

All mine are passive. Less faff suits me. Keeping it simple means less to go wrong. The only spare batteries I need are for my music stand light and I usually forget about those.